Business Briefs

Published Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Sirius, XM to merge satellite radio operations

WASHINGTON-- Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. announced Monday that they have agreed to create a $13 billion combined company, which will be headed by the current chief executive of Sirius.

The merger bid is certain to face tough scrutiny from federal regulators. Just last month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said that his agency's rules wouldn't permit such a deal.

If approved by shareholders and regulators, investors in XM would get 4.6 shares of Sirius common stock for each XM share they own. The $13 billion deal includes debt of about $1.6 billion.

Sirius, headquartered in New York City, is the home of "shock jock" Howard Stern, lifestyle maven Martha Stewart and other on-air personalities.

Sirius Chief Executive Mel Karmazin will run the combined company, which will have 14 million customers. The new name has yet to be determined.

XM Chairman Gary Parsons will be the new chairman; XM's current chief executive, Hugh Panero, will stay on until the merger is completed. XM is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Report: Americans prefer online shopping to stores

DETROIT -- Enjoy shopping online? You have lots of company.

Online shopping easily beat brick-and-mortar retailing in the University of Michigan's annual American Customer Satisfaction Index.

To be released today, the latest index shows Americans gave online retailing a score of 80 on a scale of 100, compared with 74.4 for all retail trade.

The highest-rated shopping experience of all was the book-and-music site www.barnesandnoble.com, which scored 88. Runner-up was its competitor www.amazon.com with a score of 87.

The ACSI survey looked only at national retailers.

Claes Fornell, a University of Michigan business professor who oversees the index, said customer satisfaction with online shopping is a reflection of consumers' growing sophistication in finding the best prices, products and service.

That's true both in stores and in the virtual world. Customers' overall satisfaction with American retail hit an all-time high during the fourth quarter of 2006, measured at 74.9 on the 100-point scale.

"There's a shift in power from seller to buyer," Fornell said. " The buyer has more choice, inflicting more severe penalty on companies that don't provide good levels of service, and can also reward companies that do it right."

Moroney, retired CEO of Belo Corp., dies at 85

DALLAS -- For almost half a century, James M. "Jimmy" Moroney Jr.'s vision, generosity and genial nature shaped The Dallas Morning News, its hometown and its parent company, Belo Corp. He died Sunday at the age of 85.

He was the last surviving grandson of George Bannerman Dealey, who founded The News at the behest of Col. A.H. Belo in 1885. He served a record 48 years on Belo's board of directors, where he was chairman emeritus at the time of his death. He held virtually every senior management job at the company over a period of 40 years.

Colleagues credited him with steady leadership and constant concern for the welfare of the company, its employees and its customers.

"He will be remembered always for his personal humility and unwavering belief in Belo's institutional purposes," said Robert W. Decherd, Belo's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Jimmy Moroney exerted a steady and powerful influence on the company's transitions and expansions over half a century. ... In many instances, he was the pivotal influence."